


the invisible ties that bind us

by Miyukitty



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening, Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fire Emblem Fusion, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Injury, Challenge: Sports Anime Shipping Olympics | SASO 2017, Hopeful Ending, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Prompt Fill, The Future Past DLC, War, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-23 22:19:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11999082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miyukitty/pseuds/Miyukitty
Summary: Written for the prompt:"You want to fight? We'll fight. BOTH of us. And in case you hadn't noticed, I'm not taking no for an answer." - inigo to owain, fire emblem: awakening the future past 2





	the invisible ties that bind us

**Author's Note:**

> *jazz hands* it's TFP bridge chapter x HQ training camp arc! i almost spun this as FHQ, but,, i'm forever haunted by the future past so I went full fremblem crossover (again), the futurekids are so brave!! _yarne!yachi: "No! YOU go extinct!"_
> 
> please imagine all of the first-years fighting for their senpai~ you deserved better from us than one sword and a world of troubles~~

 

_“In the future of despair, the children's misery knows no end. The children act as decoys, prepared to lose their lives, to allow their companions to escape.”_

 

* * *

 

  
  
Tsukishima wiped the corner of his mouth on his fur-lined glove. His lungs burned with each ragged inhale. He leaned heavily against the bridge post to stay upright, honey-gold eyes scanning the horizon across the chasm. This was not a safe place to rest. There was no cover, and there was only the one bridge spanning the gap.

 

Uneasiness trickled cold down his spine, raising the hairs on the nape of his neck. It would be an easy ambush. Too easy.

 

At his feet, Yamaguchi collapsed in a sweaty heap, gasping loudly for air. Hinata sagged into Kageyama's side, clutching at his tunic and dragging them both to their knees with indignant squawks. Yachi limped over to wearily separate them from their tangle of limbs. All of them looked worse for wear after their last skirmish, makeshift bandages barely covering the scrapes that still bled sluggishly through.

 

Tsukishima narrowed his gaze in frustration. Rest was a luxury they could not afford. He settled his bandaged fingers on the hilt of his sword to disguise the way they were shaking.

  
  
"I think we lost them, Tsukki," Yamaguchi wheezed. His skin was pale beneath his freckles, damp hair plastered to his sweaty forehead.

  
  
"Let go of my armor, dumbass, your hands are filthy," Kageyama snapped at Hinata.

  
  
"You're too heavy, get off me," Hinata retorted, shoving his dirty palm in Kageyama's spluttering face.

  
  
"G-g-guys," Yachi stammered as they began to wrestle on the ground. Her teeth chattered as she hugged her sides. "We can't stay here for long. W-We have to deliver Sable and Argent to the capital. Th-th-the others are counting on us-!"

  
  
"She's right. They're going to use the bridge to trap us," Tsukishima calmly pointed out. "The Risen are gathering on the far side. Once our pursuers catch up on this side, we'll have nowhere left to run."

  
  
"Th-then we're all going to die," Yachi wailed, burying her face in her hands. Her Taguel ears flopped forward, completing her dejected posturing. "I'll go extinct! And if we die, the gemstones are lost, and Ylisse will fall! Without the Awakening, the whole world is d-d-doomed! Th-they'll tell stories for centuries about how it was all our fault!"

  
  
"Yacchan, if everyone dies, no one will be left to blame you," Yamaguchi patiently pointed out.

  
  
"Oh. That makes me feel a little better, actually," Yachi admitted, cheeks pink with embarrassment. She fell silent as she fiddled with her last beaststone, cradling it close to her chest.

  
  
"We're not going to lose the gemstones," Kageyama announced with a mulish set to his jaw.

  
  
Tsukishima couldn't resist rolling his eyes. "Oh? And what's your brilliant plan, exactly?" he murmured, picking at his scabbard.

  
  
Hinata perked up at his side, beaming with that irrepressible confidence that only an idiot could still hold onto while the world was literally ending around him. "Duh! We'll just smash through the Risen on the far side before the ones behind us catch up!"

  
  
Kageyama grabbed him by the hair and gave him a light shake. "Oi. That was my idea, Hinata."

  
  
"Oww, you were too slow, Bakageyama!"

  
  
Before they could start tussling again, Tsukishima caught Yamaguchi's eye with a question. Yamaguchi gulped nervously, but nodded.

  
  
"You three need to cross immediately, then," Tsukishima stated.

 

Yachi and Hinata immediately burst into protest about splitting up, but Tsukishima ignored them. He could see shadows moving in his peripheral vision, and flash of red here and there in the underbrush. The fetid scent of rotten flesh had reached his nose on the breeze. They were out of time. "Yamaguchi and I will cover your backs and follow. We can cut the bridge once we're over so they can't pincer us in the middle. It's our only shot."

  
  
Kageyama nodded tersely. Tsukishima felt a vague sense of relief that he wouldn't need to argue his plan. Kageyama might be an idiot, but at least he understood the mission was their first priority. They could catch up later, if they all made it through.

 

He watched impassively as Kageyama grabbed Yachi by one arm and Hinata by the other, and they took off at a stumbling run. Tsukishima tuned out their shouts and turned his back on the bridge. He had to trust they could handle delivering the gemstones, because it was out of his hands now.

 

Yamaguchi leaned heavily on his spear beside him. He was sweating heavily from the Risen bite he'd taken to the ankle earlier that day. _It's going to get infected at this rate_ , Tsukishima thought with annoyance. Inwardly he cursed their lack of a healer.

 

Tsukishima knelt to adjust the clumsy dressing, long fingers gentle but firm on Yamaguchi's bare leg. Yamaguchi jumped at the touch, but remained in place, casting an anxious glance over his shoulder at the Risen shambling into view.

  
  
"Shouldn't we start crossing too, Tsukki?" Yamaguchi dithered, voice pitching high. The Risen spilled slowly into the clearing, misshapen lumps of discolored flesh and exposed bone, preternatural eyes glowing and teeth snapping with eagerness. They were unhurried now that their prey was cornered by the ravine. "We can hold them off for a bit, but there's too many to fight outright."

  
  
Tsukishima sighed. If they couldn't take out the horde on this side, their entire gambit would fail. The Risen would overrun the bridge and overwhelm their companions. It was not an option.

 

"You're right," he muttered. Beneath his hands, he could feel Yamaguchi's leg shaking. He tightened the bandage. Yamaguchi hissed a sharp inhale above him. "I'll hold them off for as long as I can. They'll charge us as soon as we turn our backs. Your best chance is to join the others so I can cut the bridge now from this side," he added.

  
  
"No way am I leaving you to die," Yamaguchi snapped.

  
  
_Ah, this is stupid,_ Tsukishima thought bitterly. _O_ _f all the times for him to show some backbone, it had to be about this.  
_

  
  
"Don't be an idiot. Only one of us needs to keep them distracted," Tsukishima explained with impatience. His fingers dug a little tighter into Yamaguchi's calf, but he did not meet his gaze. "You can still save yourself. Do you want me to die, or do you want all of us to die?"

  
  
"You're the one being an idiot! Stop talking like we've already lost, Tsukki!"

  
  
Yamaguchi grabbed him by the collar of his gambeson and hauled him up to his full height. Tsukishima blinked, startled by the sudden eye contact. Yamaguchi's expression was fierce, eyes shining with the same defiant light he'd seen on the battlefield. It was hard to meet the intensity of his gaze, but harder still to look away.

 

Yamaguchi snarled in his face, "We can still fight if we're together! We've been through too much for you to give up now. Lives are depending on us! A... Akiteru died for you, Tsukki. He wouldn't want you to throw that life away!"

  
  
"I'm not-! I'm not," Tsukishima gritted through his teeth, forcing down the sudden surge of emotion welling in his chest. Now was not the time to think about the past. It couldn't be changed. He couldn't afford to be distracted. All would be lost if he couldn't focus, _focus, Kei_. "This is the best plan, Tadashi. The gemstones are more important than me-"

  
  
"I don't care!" Yamaguchi exploded. "So what if it is the smartest plan? So what if it's to save the world? There's no point in saving this world if you're not gonna be around to see it! And I don't want any part of a world without you! I'm fighting _with_ you and that's that!"

  
  
"You…"

 

_When did you get so tall, anyway? When did you become such a hero?_

  
  
They glared at each other for a long moment, panting harshly, hands shaking. They were so close he could feel Yamaguchi's breath hot against his cheek, see the flutter of his eyelashes, count the freckles dusting his cheeks. Without looking, he could hear the scraping and shambling of the Risen moving faster, drawn to their voices. There were only seconds left before they'd be forced to fight for their lives.

  
  
_This is stupid_ , he thought again, and in a quick burst of inspiration, Tsukishima drew his sword and slashed the bridge line. He could hear Hinata's shout of dismay from all the way across the canyon as the suspended bridge twisted and plunged into the emptiness. There was no going back. 

  
  
And Yamaguchi's radiant smile beamed from ear to ear. The relief in his eyes was evident as his fingers slowly uncurled from Tsukishima's clothes, still so close their foreheads nearly touched. "You just called me Tadashi," he murmured, sounding awestruck. He picked up his spear and leveled it toward their enemies, but his knees were wobbling.

  
  
Tsukishima's ears burned pink. He bumped his back against Yamaguchi's, sword hand steady, pulse thrumming too-fast in his veins. This was the most foolish, impulsive decision he'd ever made, but in his defense, he figured in a few short moments none of this would matter.

  
  
"Shut up, Tadashi. Don't you dare die on me," Tsukishima said softly.

  
  
"I'm not going anywhere… Kei," Yamaguchi grinned beside him, as they faced their fate together.


End file.
